Although we’ve only started, we’re going to break from Proverbs and concentrate on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, our King. After facing much opposition for His teaching, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, denied by the disciples, crucified, and He dies. Three days later He rises from the dead and appears to the disciples, confirming that He is indeed King over life and death. The long-awaited King has brought in His Kingdom, but it is different than expected, for He reigns in our hearts until the day He comes again to establish a new and perfect world.
We will begin this post by remembering how Jesus and His disciples shared the Last Supper…
“When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. While they were eating, he said, 'I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.’ Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, ‘Am I the one, Lord?’ He replied, 'One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of man must die as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!’ Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, ‘Rabbi, am I the one?’ And Jesus told him, ‘You have said it.’
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples saying, ‘Take this and eat it, for this is my body.’ And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.’ Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.” Matthew 26: 20-30
There are three commonly named terms for this sacrament, but each one has a different dimension. (1)
The Lord’s Supper because it commemorates the Passover meal Jesus ate with His disciples. (2)
The Eucharist (meaning thanksgiving), in it we thank God for Christ’s work for us. We call it (3)
Communion because through it we commune with God and with other believers. As we eat the bread and drink the wine, we should reverently reflect and remember Jesus’ death and His promise to come again.
Now some of you know this, but bear with me, some might have just stumbled over here and they could be reading for the first time: How does Jesus’ blood relate to the new covenant? People under the Old Covenant (those who lived before Jesus) could only approach God through a priest and an animal sacrifice
“In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9: 22. Why does forgiveness require the shedding of blood? This is no arbitrary decree on the part of a bloodthirsty God, as some suggest. There is no greater symbol of life than blood; blood keeps us alive. Jesus shed His blood—gave His life—for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to experience spiritual death, eternal separation from God. Jesus is the source of life—not death.
As I’m writing this, I feel that another truth of the Bible needs to be shared…
The Bible tells me that when Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two. Let’s look at how the Temple was constructed; it had three main parts: (1) the Courts (2) the Holy Place (where only the priests could enter) (3) the Most Holy Place (where only the high priest could enter, and only once a year, to atone for the sins of the nation.) The curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two at Christ’s death, symbolizing that the barrier between God and humanity was removed. Now we are all free to approach God because of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. We no longer need a human mediator. The Bible tells me that Christ has become our High priest , and entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
Although we’ve only started, we’re going to break from Proverbs and concentrate on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, our King. After facing much opposition for His teaching, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, denied by the disciples, crucified, and He dies. Three days later He rises from the dead and appears to the disciples, confirming that He is indeed King over life and death. The long-awaited King has brought in His Kingdom, but it is different than expected, for He reigns in our hearts until the day He comes again to establish a new and perfect world.
We will begin this post by remembering how Jesus and His disciples shared the Last Supper…
“When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. While they were eating, he said, 'I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.’ Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, ‘Am I the one, Lord?’ He replied, 'One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of man must die as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!’ Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, ‘Rabbi, am I the one?’ And Jesus told him, ‘You have said it.’
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples saying, ‘Take this and eat it, for this is my body.’ And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.’ Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.” Matthew 26: 20-30
There are three commonly named terms for this sacrament, but each one has a different dimension. (1) The Lord’s Supper because it commemorates the Passover meal Jesus ate with His disciples. (2) The Eucharist (meaning thanksgiving), in it we thank God for Christ’s work for us. We call it (3) Communion because through it we commune with God and with other believers. As we eat the bread and drink the wine, we should reverently reflect and remember Jesus’ death and His promise to come again.
Now some of you know this, but bear with me, some might have just stumbled over here and they could be reading for the first time: How does Jesus’ blood relate to the new covenant? People under the Old Covenant (those who lived before Jesus) could only approach God through a priest and an animal sacrifice “In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9: 22. Why does forgiveness require the shedding of blood? This is no arbitrary decree on the part of a bloodthirsty God, as some suggest. There is no greater symbol of life than blood; blood keeps us alive. Jesus shed His blood—gave His life—for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to experience spiritual death, eternal separation from God. Jesus is the source of life—not death.
As I’m writing this, I feel that another truth of the Bible needs to be shared…
The Bible tells me that when Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two. Let’s look at how the Temple was constructed; it had three main parts: (1) the Courts (2) the Holy Place (where only the priests could enter) (3) the Most Holy Place (where only the high priest could enter, and only once a year, to atone for the sins of the nation.) The curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two at Christ’s death, symbolizing that the barrier between God and humanity was removed. Now we are all free to approach God because of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. We no longer need a human mediator. The Bible tells me that Christ has become our High priest , and entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.